RECIPES: Recipe Details

Mooooffuletta Burger

I am an olive freak. I had worked myself up for experiencing the New Orleans classic Muffuletta sandwhich before our trip to in April of 2005. But, when we got to Central Grocery, disappointment overwhelmed me. Because I don't eat pork, I couldn't enjoy the famed sandwhich. When I transferred to the Houston, Texas office of my law firm, I found a deli in our building that thankfully offered a turkey muffuletta alternative, as well as the traditional version. Satisfaction at last! I am such an olive freak, that one week I had the sandwhich for lunch three times. Hearing about your burger contest inspired me to pay hommage to my lust for the olive salad sandwhich. And, voila! - the Mooooffuletta Burger was born! It's the perfect marriage of the voluptuous flavor of the reveered olive with the robust, manly taste of good 'ol American beef.

Combine olive salad with dry chili flakes. Let stand in bowl at room temperature for at least one hour. Stack slices of salami and cut into three sections. Then cut sections into a fine julienne, about 1/8â€Â wide. Place in bowl with onion, garlic, salt, pepper, coriander, cumin, Worchester sauce, soy sauce and ground beef. Mix with your hands until well combined. Divide into six even portions and form into patties. Refrigerate patties until ready to grill. Make a small crater or divot in the bottom half of each Kaiser roll by pinching out the bread. Over medium heat, toast rolls lightly on both sides. Remove rolls and set aside. Remove patties from refrigerator. Oil grill grates. Place patties on grill, cook for two minutes. Flip patties and cook for another two minutes. Place turkey slices directly onto the grill, heating quickly for about 30 seconds. Then place two slices of turkey on each patty and top with two slices of cheese. Leave patties on the grill until the cheese melts. Remove patties from grill and cover lightly with foil. Drain olive salad. Using the oil drained from the olive salad, brush each roll top to flavor bread without making soggy. Put 1/3 cup of the olive salad into the crater or divot of the bottoms of the rolls. Top with the patties and the tops of the rolls. Enjoy!!